We are four games into the season and I think that third-ranked Mater Dei is still trying to figure things out on both sides of the ball.

There are times when the receivers look to be in sync with quarterback Matt Barkley and then there are other times, like Thursday, when that is far from the truth. There were several dropped balls Thursday night.

One good to come of Mater Dei’s exhausting 49-32 victory over L.A. Jordan Thursday was the re-emergence of its running game. With junior offensive lineman Chris Ward making his season debut, the Monarchs were able to create holes for Jaron Hytche and Jordan Allen to run through. Then again, this was LA Jordan and its undermanned roster. Will the Monarchs be able to do this against Edison next week and then in Trinity League play when the stakes are increased? That remains to be seen.

Barkley didn’t have a great game (17-36 for 242 yards, 1td and 2 int) and one area of concern has to be his interceptions. Through the first four games, he has thrown nine interceptions.

Then there is the defense. To their credit, the defensive unit showed signs of life in the second half against Jordan. The Monarchs allowed a touchdown to start the second half and only one other after that. Mater Dei picked off James Boyd four times in the second half.

Mater Dei’s defense has shown to be vulnerable to the spread offense and teams with speed at the skill position in games against Carson, Centennial and Jordan. One thing that this team is lacking is a playmaker on defense. Last year, whenever they needed a big play, someone seemed to come through, whether it was Andrew Abbott or Robert Mojica or Cameron Meredith.

Is there a person on this year’s roster to fill that role? Only time will tell.

Up next: vs. Edison, Oct. 3 at Orange Coast College, 7 p.m.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.